By Owen Eresoyen, Benin
Edo State first lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, said the Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament (BOWFT) is beyond playing football but seeks to touch the lives of women in Edo State and Nigeria.
She said this while briefing journalists in Benin City as the 4th edition of the BOWFT kicks off in Benin with 14 teams out of which nine premiership clubs participating in the event that will last 10 days.
The Chairman of the board of trustees of the BOWFT, Mrs. Obaseki said the idea of the tournament is to empower women in Nigeria and support them to make a career out of football.
She said the tournament will certainly continue after the end of the Obaseki’s led administration because the tournament is privately funded and sponsored with a board in place alongside a marker.
“Four years ago we started with 12 teams and in the fourth edition we have 14 teams with two international teams, the price money has also increased and doubled with the years from N5 million in the first outing to N10 million in this edition.
“After our first outing, FIFA recognized our efforts in promoting female football and empowering women and gave us an award”, she said.
She noted that sports was dead in Edo State before the Obaseki’s led administration eight years ago despite being the number State in sports in Nigeria during the time of Samuel Ogbemudia.
“Gov Godwin Obaseki revived sports and ensured it brought back Bendel Insurance and Edo Queens to winning ways as the Benin Clubs are now national and West African champions. Since this tournament, Edo Queens are getting better as they became the champion last year and continue in that line winning the WAFU Cup to represent West Africa.
“This tournament has produced players that played for our female national team and also for foreign Clubs as our efforts are yielding desirable results. The tournament is helping to grow and develop female football in Nigeria also creating opportunities for our female children to make a career out of football”.
The first lady maintained that the Obaseki’s led administration has used the tournament to tackle human trafficking as it created a platform and pathway for the girls and ensured they have a successful career in female football.
She noted that each year has its own theme for the tournament which will also have a seminar along with the competition. “In the first edition the theme was girl child education, second year was, say no to drugs. For the third year it was gender based violence while for this year it’s “say no to teen pregnancy and abandonment”.